Position:

2025–2026 Young Artists

Yakima Symphony Chorus

Compensation:

The Young Artist Program was established to enhance professional training for career-oriented singers. Recipients receive an annual stipend of $2,000 payable over ten months and provided with experiences to strengthen their development as soloists and professional choral singers.

Details:

The Young Artists gain experience covering solos in major works and attending dress rehearsals with visiting guest artists, giving them the opportunity to observe and interact with professional soloists. Young Artists also present an annual recital and perform at other Yakima Symphony Chorus events.

In our upcoming season, our first Pops concert will feature Coloratura Soprano, Soprano, and Tenor Young Artists in Die Fledermaus extracts. 

The Young Artists are also responsible for providing musical leadership in the Yakima Symphony Chorus through thorough preparation of their parts, running sectionals as section leaders, occasionally providing chorus warm-ups, and assisting with concert logistics, and covering selected solo parts and occasional solo singing.

Young Artists rehearse as members of the Yakima Symphony Chorus from mid-September through May on Monday evenings, 7–9:30 PM at Wesley United Methodist Church, with some additional Thursday nights and weekends for performance weeks and piano rehearsals with YSO Music Director Lawrence Golan. Singers must be available to attend all rehearsals to be eligible for an audition.

Deadline to Apply: August 15, 2025

Audition Date: Contact chorusmaster@ysomusic.org to schedule a mid-August audition with Chorusmaster Steven Slusher

Dates of Employment: September 2025–May 2026

Eligible candidates for Young Artist positions:

• Have completed a minimum of three years of undergraduate study in music
• Are pursuing a professional vocal/conducting career
• Are currently in private vocal study
• Are thirty-five years old or younger
• Are available to attend all concerts and Monday evening rehearsals from September through May
• Who are not US citizens will need to present proof of employment authorization in the United States

Audition Format: 

Auditions last approximately 20 minutes and include sight-reading, tonal memory, and vocalization.

Auditioning singers will be asked to present three vocal selections that demonstrate their range, timbre, flexibility, diction, expressiveness, and stage presence from the following:

1. A Baroque aria from a cantata, oratorio, or mass in any language (this does not need to be memorized)
2. An opera aria in a foreign language (this should be performed from memory)
3. An operetta/musical theatre song in English, suitable for informal entertainment (this should be performed from memory)

An accompanist will be provided. Please be prepared to send music electronically ahead of time and bring music for the accompanist marked with changes in tempo, dynamics, ritards, etc.

Should you be granted an audition, we will require one letter of recommendation from a voice instructor or choral director giving a professional evaluation of your musicianship, leadership abilities, dependability, and vocal potential.